I only knew my parents when they were older -- I wasn't even born until Mom was 40. And, of course, I never knew my Gramma as a young woman. I often think about what they were like when they were young. The clues are in the old photos I have of them and other family members, so I thought I'd share a few of my favorites. Here's my Pop in the 1930s. Isn't he... Read more →
When we cleaned out Mom's house last year, my niece scooped up my Mom's recipe box. I'm really happy she did, because in that box was the Sacred Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. These cookies were one of Mom's specialties. I remember sitting on the kitchen counter beside my younger sister watching her make these cookies. I'm sure she set us up there to keep an eye on us, but to me it was a total... Read more →
I was doing some file maintenance today and found this file from 2008 (or maybe earlier!) full of HTML code. I sort of remembered doing this quiz to determine my "visual DNA" so I fired up my browser and took a look. The original site seems to be gone, but I found another that does pretty much the same thing. So tell me, what's your Visual DNA?? Read more →
We spent the weekend at Joe's sister's house. It's such a beautiful drive out there, over the ridges through Frederick, Hagerstown, Hancock, Flintstone... into and out of Cumberland, down the driveway, through the woods and up the hill to the octagon house. We didn't do anything in particular. We petted the critters and walked along the lane and listened to the wind in the trees. We drank coffee and ate cake and played games with... Read more →
The last couple days have been a clusterfuck. It started Monday, when I thought I'd steam a zucchini for dinner. I sliced up the delectable squash, dumped it in the steamer basket, put the basket in the pan, and slapped the pan on the burner at high heat. Notice anything missing from this scenario? Yeah. I forgot to put water in the pan. So much for that pan, dammit. Yesterday evening I our voicemail contained... Read more →
Yesterday I took the lovely and talented Deb up on her offer to get together and off we went to the Maryland Renaissance Festival. We had a blast! We actually had A Plan, which was to see as many shows as possible, interspersed with eating and drinking. Notice that I did not mention "shopping." While I enjoy browsing in the shops, I have learned that I really have no need for a snood or a... Read more →
I took the day off today because Joe's working all. damn. weekend. Yes, including Monday, but not including today. So, no brainer. We took off a little after noon to have some lunch and take in a movie. As we were motoring over to Bethesda, some jerk in a commercial van suddenly decided he was going the wrong way and blocked the left lane while he waited to make an illegal U-turn. Joe hit the... Read more →
Are unruly children making your life miserable? Screaming toddlers causing your head to explode? Bad seeds planting themselves in your general vicinity on the subway, the airplane, the movie theater, or supermarket? Don't suffer anymore! Presenting TaserTot, the handheld stun gun that delivers a mild jolt of "Mind Your Manners" to out-of-control anklebiters. It doesn't matter if the rugrats are poorly medicated or just plain brats, the solution can be right in the palm of... Read more →